Assegno Unico (child benefit)
Accepted: the amount is recalculated on the current indicator, taking effect under INPS rules.
CAF services · ISEE certificate
Current ISEE (ISEE corrente)
The ordinary ISEE (the Italian household means-test indicator) looks at income from two years ago. If you have since lost your job or your business has shrunk, that indicator describes a situation that no longer exists. The current ISEE exists for exactly this.
01 · How it works
Why the current ISEE exists
The ordinary ISEE is based on income from the second year before and on assets at 31 December of that same year. This criterion ensures the data are certain and can be verified, but it describes the past.
If your financial situation has recently got worse (loss of your job, cassa integrazione (wage support scheme), closure of a business, death of a household member), that indicator comes out higher than reality, and this means benefits refused or reduced.
The current ISEE lets you replace the income component, and in some cases the assets component too, with figures for a period much closer to the present.
The current ISEE does not replace the ordinary one: it adds to it. To get it you must already have a valid ordinary ISEE, meaning a DSU (the self-declaration the ISEE is based on) filed and a certificate issued.
02 · Who can apply
The conditions for a current ISEE
You need at least one of two conditions: a change in the work situation of a household member, or a significant fall in total income compared with the income used in the ordinary ISEE.
- A permanent employee whose employment has been terminated, suspended or reduced.
- A fixed-term or atypical worker who is out of work after working at least 120 days in the previous twelve months.
- A self-employed worker who has closed their business and does not carry on another.
- A fall in total income of more than 25% compared with the income used in the ordinary ISEE.
- A fall in assets of more than 20%, to update the assets component as well.
- The end of social security, welfare or compensation payments that are not part of total income.
- The death, serious illness or moving away from the residence of a household member.
What is updated
Depending on the grounds, you can update only the income component, or the assets component as well.
- Income only: in most cases, for the last twelve months or the shorter period stated
- Assets as well: when assets have fallen by more than 20%
- The component that is not updated stays as in the ordinary ISEE it is based on
- The calculation also takes into account payments received during the period, such as NASpI (unemployment benefit) or cassa integrazione
03 · What you need
The documents to bring
- A valid ordinary ISEE certificate: it is the prerequisite
- Proof of the change in work: dismissal letter, end of contract, cassa integrazione order, closure of the partita IVA (Italian VAT number)
- Income received during the reference period by all household members: payslips, certificates, receipts
- Payments received: NASpI, cassa integrazione, allowances, with the amounts
- Up-to-date asset documents, if you are also asking to update the assets
- Death certificate or proof of the event, in cases of death or moving away
- Identity documents and codici fiscali (Italian tax codes) of the household
Proof of the change is the critical point: without a document showing the termination, suspension or reduction of the work, the request cannot be accepted. Self-certification is not enough for this element.
04 · How long it lasts
How long it is valid and when to renew it
The current ISEE is valid for six months from the date it is filed. This is much shorter than the ordinary one, which is valid until 31 December.
Validity runs to the end of the year where only the payments received have changed, or where the change in work situation is one the rules treat as stable.
When it expires you can file a new current ISEE, if the grounds still apply. If you do not renew it, the ordinary ISEE applies again, with the higher indicator.
- Step 1Ordinary ISEEFiling the DSU and issue of the certificate: it is the necessary prerequisite
- Step 2Checking the requirementsChecking the change in work or the fall in income
- Step 3Supplementary DSUFilling in the current ISEE form with figures for the recent period
- Step 4IssueThe INPS (Italian social security institute) processes it and makes the new certificate available
- After 6 monthsRenewalFile again if the grounds still apply, otherwise the ordinary ISEE applies again
05 · Benefits
Which benefits accept the current ISEE
The current ISEE can be used for most means-tested social benefits. Some providers may, however, specifically ask for the ordinary ISEE, or apply their own rules on when the recalculation takes effect.
Assegno di Inclusione (inclusion allowance)
Can be used to check the requirements, under the conditions the measure sets.
Social bonuses
Accepted for electricity, gas and water, granted through the automatic procedures.
Municipal fees and concessions
Usually accepted, but the rules of each Comune (municipality) may set conditions of their own.
University fees
For university you need the ISEE for right-to-study benefits: check the call for applications.
Health and social care benefits
Check with the provider which type of indicator is required.
Before applying for the current ISEE, it is worth reading the call or the rules for the benefit you are interested in: some measures state which certificate they use and from when the recalculation takes effect.
Frequently asked
The questions that keep coming up
Can I apply for the current ISEE without an ordinary one?
No. The current ISEE is built on an ordinary ISEE that is already valid: it replaces some components of that calculation, it does not replace the ISEE itself.
If you have not yet filed the DSU for this year, we do both at the same appointment: first the ordinary, then the current.
I lost my job last month: can I apply already?
Yes, if you have proof of the termination and the figures for income received during the reference period. There is no need to wait.
In fact, the sooner you file, the sooner the related benefits are brought into line: the recalculation takes effect under the rules of each measure, and in several cases it is not backdated.
Does NASpI count as income?
Yes. Welfare, social security and compensation payments received during the reference period count towards the current ISEE.
This explains why in some cases the benefit is lower than expected: if you have lost your job but receive a sizeable allowance, the indicator falls less than you might imagine.
Does it also apply to assets?
Only if the specific condition is met, that is, a fall in assets of more than 20% compared with the assets used in the ordinary ISEE.
In other cases only the income component is updated, while assets stay as in the ordinary ISEE it is based on.
It expires before the ordinary one: is it still worth it?
If the resulting indicator is noticeably lower, yes: six months of benefits calculated correctly are worth more than twelve calculated on a situation that no longer applies.
When it expires, you decide whether to renew it. If your work situation has meanwhile recovered, the ordinary ISEE becomes the correct indicator again.
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Let's talk
If your situation has changed, the ordinary ISEE works against you
The current ISEE builds on an ordinary one that is already valid and updates it with recent income. It needs precise documents, but the benefit is immediate.